Patient/caregiver was educated on the precautions to be observed while taking temazepam as follows:
- Continue taking temazepam as ordered, for the prescribed length of time, even if your symptoms of insomnia are under control. Discontinuing the medication abruptly, without physician recommendation, can lead to recurrence of the insomnia symptoms.
- Avoid drinking alcohol with temazepam. Both alcohol and temazepam depress the nervous system and significantly increase the risk for confusion, drowsiness, and difficulty concentrating, when taken together. Their effects on the brain and nervous system can get added up and lead to severe depression of the nervous system, thus compromising safety and resulting in accidents and falls. Also, even if you are consuming any alcoholic beverages, limit the use of alcohol to one drink and space it out from temazepam intake by atleast 3 – 4 hours, to avoid any possible interactions.
- Your physician could change the dose of temazepam, based on the relief obtained from insomnia or side-effects developed. So, maintain compliance with follow-up physician appointments, to have your doctor updated. Be accommodative to the plan of frequent dose changes, until you show an optimum response.
- Try changing the positions very slowly, as sudden change of positions can make the episodes of confusion and dizziness even worse and precipitate accidents and falls. One should stay away from activities, such as, driving, operating heavy machinery, swimming, and other activities needing mental alertness, until they are used to the side effects caused by the temazepam.
